In the last two weeks we have looked at the lives of Blessed Assunta of China and St. Alphonsa of India. This week let us go further south to Australia and look at the life of Blessed Mary MacKillop (1842-1909). Her feast day will be celebrated in Australia on Aug. 8, and she will be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17.

Foundress of Australian order

Mary MacKillop was born on Jan. 15, 1842, in Melbourne, Australia. She was the eldest of eight children. Her father was good and devout, but he was not a good provider. His failures in business made it necessary for Mary to work to support the family. She worked as a governess, shop assistant, and schoolteacher.

While teaching in Penola, Mary met the parish priest, Father Julian Tenison Woods. Both Father Woods and Mary felt the need to provide education for poor children and to have a religious order of Australian sisters. In 1866 they founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, also called the Josephites.

The sisters willingly shared the poverty of the people. Since the people in Australia were scattered, the sisters lived in small groups out in the country. At that time Australia was filled with prejudice, and the Josephites gently fought against it with justice and equality. The European religious sisters were divided into choir nuns (from upper-class families) and lay sisters (from lower-class families), but the Josephites had no such distinction.

The Josephites engaged in the work of education. They also visited the sick and the prisoners, and gave a home to the elderly and the homeless.

Under the leadership of Mary, the order expanded to different parts of Australia. By the end of 1869 there were 72 sisters operating 21 schools.

Mary wrote regularly to each new sister in order to encourage her in her vocation, and to help her adjust to a new lifestyle.

Patience and forgiveness

In religious life Mary took the name "Mary of the Cross." Her life was to be filled with crosses. She had to suffer greatly from the people around her and from poor health.

Father Woods was an intelligent and creative young priest, but he also had faults which caused problems for Mary and for the Josephites. He often disagreed with Mary and acted against her wishes. But in spite of her negative experiences with him, she always acknowledged the good in Father Woods. She visited and comforted him in his final illness, and after his death she wrote a biography of him, highlighting the best of his qualities.

Some people did not like the new way of life of the Josephites. They denounced the sisters to Bishop Sheil of Adelaide, who changed the rule of the sisters, and put himself in charge. Mary resisted his interference, and in response, the bishop unjustly excommunicated her in September 1871.

For the next five months Mary waited patiently. She didn't say or write anything to defend herself. She even defended Bishop Sheil: asking people not to blame him, saying that she felt that he had been misguided by others. A few days before his own death, Bishop Sheil lifted the excommunication.

Throughout her life Mary had to endure numerous occasions of opposition and false accusations from people within the Church. She combated these difficulties with charity and patience.

Mary also had numerous health problems. Stress and a rigorous travel schedule worsened her health. In 1902 she suffered a stroke, and for the next seven years she was in a wheelchair while her health gradually deteriorated.

In the last 18 months of her life Mary was bedridden. She suffered without complaint. She died calmly and quietly on August 8, 1909. Mary MacKillop was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

These last three weeks we have looked at the lives of holy nuns of the 20th century. May we be inspired by their dedication, purity of intention, and patience. After the summer break there will be a series of articles on the lives and teachings of the early Church Fathers.

Last week I wrote about Blessed Assunta of China. This week, let us travel southward in spirit to India and look at the life of another holy nun, St. Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (1910-1946). The faithful in India will celebrate her feast day on July 28, and August 19 will be the 100th anniversary of her birth.

Path to the convent

St. Alphonsa was born on Aug. 19, 1910, at a rural village in Kerala, India. Her baptismal name was Anna, and her family called her Annakutty. She lost her mother while still an infant and her aunt, Annamma, became her "second mother."

Annamma was very strict with Annakutty, but she also loved Annakutty as her own daughter, and wished to arrange a good marriage for her. She chose a young man from a well-to-do family. When Annakutty learnt about the plan she was very upset, for she desired to become a nun.

Remembering some of the saints had marred their beauty to prevent marriage, Annakutty decided to cause herself physical injury so that she would not be able to go to church for the betrothal.

Annakutty intended to put one foot into an active fire pit behind her home, but she slipped and fell into the pit. Both her feet and legs, her skirt, and the ends of hair were burned. She managed to escape from the pit but fainted on her way to the house. The burn was serious and it was only after three months that she could walk about again.

Later, when Annakutty confessed this action to her spiritual director, he scolded her, and with childlike simplicity she said, "I didn't know there was so much fire!"

Annakutty's aunt, however, had not given up the plan for a good marriage. Annakutty, therefore, pleaded desperately with her uncle, telling him that she would rather die than marry. Finally her uncle gave in and let her enter the Clarist Sisters of Malabar in May 1927. In religious life Annakutty took the name Sister Alphonsa.

Path of suffering

As a young religious, Sister Alphonsa taught elementary school, but she was often sick and had to give up teaching. Sister Alphonsa continued to suffer from poor health. One time St. Therese of Lisieux appeared to her saying, "You are cured of your fever, you will never suffer from any contagious disease, but you will be tried unto death itself by other sickness."

On Oct. 18, 1940, a thief broke into Sister Alphonsa's room. The man was frightened by her screams and ran away, but the shock caused Sister Alphonsa to lose her memory temporarily, and she also lost her ability to read for 11 months.

Before long, Sister Alphonsa developed swelling in both legs which turned into leg ulcers. She received the last rites, but didn't die. Her health improved and she enjoyed three years of relatively good health. In July 1945 she developed stomach convulsions and vomiting that led to her death on July 28, 1946.

Sister Alphonsa suffered for souls willingly and quietly. In the midst of great suffering she attempted to smile and to speak cheerful words. There was great serenity on her suffering face.

Devotion of children

Sister Alphonsa was loved by children. She was their good friend, and they sensed her great love for them. When she was bedridden, they considered it a great honour to assist her, and they often asked her for advice and prayers to help them in their small trials of childhood.

After her death the children missed her. They visited her tomb and asked her prayers. When their prayers were answered, the children were vocal in their gratitude. Gradually the adults also asked her prayers. People began to lights candles at her tomb.

Eventually the Church began to study the life of Sister Alphonsa. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1986 and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. People called her the "Little Flower" of India.

Rockford IL, July 9, 2010 -The Rockford abortion mill, that has for weeks been blaring a radio in an attempt to silence pro-lifers who offer help to mothers in need as they cross the parking-lot of the Northern Illinois Women's Center, received a very big surprise Friday morning.

A little after 7:00am WNTA, the radio station the clinic plays over its amplified public address sound system , that can be heard blocks away, opened up its phone lines to callers. The first caller they took, live on the air, was a pro-lifer who was standing at the driveway of the Rockford abortion mill that is nationally known for its signs mocking God and celebrating the number of children they have killed.

The local pro-life activist was able to clearly explain, on-air, to D.J. Doug McDuff that the Rockford abortion mill is using WNTA in an attempt to silence offers of help to mothers in need at the abortion mill.

Just at that moment one of the abortion mill workers got out of her car to walk into the mill. The mill landlord who puts up the signs mocking God was also listening in.

When D.J. Doug McDuff heard what was happening he began calling out live over the radio in a very, very loud voice,"God bless pro-lifers, God bless pro-lifers, God bless pro-lifers!"

Appearing completely shocked, the abortion mill nurse who heard this began waving her arms around her head like she couldn't believe what was being broadcast over the abortion mill public address system. The look of almost terror and confusion on her face was priceless as she scrambled into the mill.

D.J. Doug McDuff allowed the pro-lifer who was standing at the mill driveway to explain on air to the people of Rockford and all those both inside and out of the mill that Christians come to the Rockford abortion mill to offer love, help, and hope to mothers in need.

The conversation was closed with a request to the people of Rockford to pray for mothers in need and an end to abortion.

The enthusiastic D.J. closed the live on air conversation repeating his rallying cry of "God bless pro-lifers."

The abortion mill landlord seemed so infuriated that his own public address system was used to loudly and boldly proclaim the pro-life message of love and hope in his own abortion mill that he came charging out of the abortion mill with a chainsaw!

This is the same person who has claimed responsibility for placing a rubber chicken over the body of Christ on a Crucifix, perverted signs attacking Christians, and putting up a sign that claims the 50,000 children that have been killed by abortion in his building, the Northern Illinois Women Centers, is their victory over Jesus Christ.

He stood by his loud speakers all morning with a chainsaw running just in case another pro-lifer spoke about the love and help that is offered to any mother in need.

Later that morning one mother who possibly heard the message of love and hope broadcast over the Rockford abortion mills own speakers left the mill with her baby alive and well and did not return. A LIFE WAS SAVED!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

My article last week was about the seven martyrs of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary; their feast day was celebrated on July 9.

The example of these martyrs inspired a young nun, Sister Maria Assunta Pallotta (1878-1905) to give her life to the mission in China. She wrote to her superior, Blessed Mary of the Passion, requesting to be sent to China. The obedience of Jesus, the willingness of Mary, and the humility of Francis of Assisi are the three traits very dear to Assunta.

A brief but intense life

Blessed Assunta was born on August 20, 1878, in Italy. She was the eldest of five children of a poor family. Assunta supported her family through physical labour and housework. She was remembered as a solemn and quiet girl. She combined work with prayer in her daily life and led an austere life of fasting and mortification. Though poor herself, she had great charity towards other poor people.

In her late teens Assunta experienced the call to religious life. In 1898 she left all and entered the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Rome. Her smile and serenity brought joy to those around her.

In March 1904 Sister Assunta was sent to China. She arrived there on June 18. She was assigned to the humble task of working in the kitchen. Sister Assunta gave humble and hidden service to her community.

A few months later an epidemic of typhus broke out. Some nuns and many children were sick. Sister Assunta nursed the sick with selfless dedication, and in March 1905 she too fell ill. She requested to receive the Last Sacraments. Towards the end of her life she begged repeatedly for Holy Communion, but she was unable to receive because she could not swallow.

In her last hours Sister Assunta often repeated the names of Jesus and Mary. Her desire for Holy Communion was expressed in her last spoken word, “Centi! Centi!” (Chinese for Holy Communion). She died on April 7, 1905.

At her death, those praying in Sister Assunta’s room noticed a delightful fragrance, which lasted for three days. Eight years later, when her body was transferred, it was discovered to be incorrupt. Sister Assunta was beatified by Pope Pius XII on November 7, 1954.

Purity of intention

In January 1904, Blessed Assunta wrote to her parents about her life program: “I ask the Lord for the grace to make known to the world purity of intention, which consists in doing everything for the love of God, even the most ordinary actions.”

Assunta formed some very beautiful resolutions:

“I came to the convent to become a saint: to what purpose would I live a long time if I did not attain my goal? I will therefore not pass up anything profitable for my soul, though the whole world be given me in exchange.”

“Never will I excuse myself, never speak of myself, imitating the Most Blessed Virgin in humility and charity toward God and neighbour.”

“To do all for the love of God: I would like to write it in my blood.”

A spiritual writer, Adolphe Tanquerey, pointed out that intention is the principal element in our actions. Intention is the eye that sheds light and directs our actions. It is also the soul that animates our actions. The following three elements help to give special value to our intentions:

1. Strive to do all things out of love for God and others, for charity is the queen and the soul of all virtues.

2. It is useful to propose to ourselves several supernatural motives, and thus exercise a number of virtues at the same time. For example, an act of obedience to a parent is prompted by both charity and obedience. Another example is to pray an Act of Contrition out of love for God, a spirit of penance, and humility.

3. We must form and renew frequently our supernatural intention. In the morning we recite the Morning Offering to offer all actions to God. During the day, we should renew this intention frequently.

Today’s Readings give answers to the question—What must I do to have eternal salvation?

1st Reading: Keep the Commandments.

The Commandments are not far from us, and God is always ready to help us with His grace; so, if we will, we can keep the Commandments.

2nd Reading: Be united with Christ.

Some Colossians thought that they should worship spirits. Hence Paul corrected them by telling them Jesus Christ is above all creatures (including all spirits). All creatures are created by Him, for Him and in Him.

The response of Jesus in the Gospel fulfils both the 1st & 2nd Readings.

The lawyer asked Jesus 2 questions: “Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Who is my neighbor?”

Allegorical meaning of the parable of the Good Samaritan: “The man that fell among robbers, represents Adam and his posterity; Jerusalem, the state of peace and innocence, which man leaves by going down to Jericho, which means the moon, the state of trouble and sin: the robbers represent the devil, who stripped him of his supernatural gifts, and wounded him in his faculties: the priestand Levite represent the old law: the Samaritan, Christ; and the beast, his humanity. The inn means the Church; wine, the blood of Christ; oil, his mercy; whilst the host signifies S. Peter and his successors, the bishops and priests of the Church.” (Haydock’s Catholic Family Bible and Commentary)

In light of the parable, let us ask ourselves 3 questions:

Do I love all people, or do I only love those I like?

When I do good to others, am I expect to get something back from them in return?

Have I done the best to help others?

Today I had the great joy to baptize 3 lovely babies.

Last Sunday was the last time I said Chinese Mass @ Corpus Christi. After my “retirement”, I am using the extra time on Sunday afternoon for a Chinese Catechism class here at St. Patrick’s.

I invited the non-Catholics members of my prayer groups to learn about the Catholic Faith and to become Catholics. Some other Catholics and non-Catholics also come to learn about the Faith. I am very glad that we had a very good class this afternoon. Please pray for the success of this new class.

Monday, July 5, 2010

I have started something new for my 3 prayer groups. I am teaching St. Thomas’s Summa Theologica. We begun with the moral life. So, it is 2nd volume in the English translation. During two meetings, we talked about Happiness.

Here are some important ideas:

Men has always an end in view when he acts, that is when he acts as man (human act) and not by impulse, or by reason which is purely physical or instinctive (act of man).

Man under the higher action of God and dependently upon this action, can fix for himself the end for which he acts; whereas other creatures of the material world put into execution blindly, naturally, or instinctively the end fixed to their action by God.

The objective ultimate happiness fulfils the soul but is something outside the soul, which the soul attains to.

No created good can give man perfect happiness. Only the uncreated good can be the ultimate end of man. And this uncreated good is God.

What Happiness Is

Ultimate subjective happiness is the state of fulfillment and satisfaction in a person who has obtained the end for which he is made.

Ultimate objective happiness is the reality which, when possessed, will render the possessor subjectively happy. God is man’s objective happiness.

Man’s subjective happiness is both a state and an operation. As a state--- permanent possession of fulfillment. As an operation--- an act by which man lays hold of, and possesses, the object which renders him happy.

Operation in perfect happiness--- an act of intellect rather than will; speculative rather than practical.

Requirements For Happiness

These three must concur in Happiness; to wit, vision, which is perfect knowledge of the intelligible end; comprehension, which implies presence of the end; and delight or enjoyment, which implies repose of the lover in the object beloved.

Rightness or rectitude of the will is necessary for happiness.

In the present life, we need the body, external goods (in due measure), and fellowship of friends for earthly happiness. But these are NOT essential to man’s ultimate happiness.

The Attainment Of Happiness

All men have the desire for their own fulfillment and happiness. But not all have the right notion of happiness.

In the present earthly life man may attain a degree of happiness, but cannot have perfect happiness. On earth limitations and drawbacks are associated with happiness. Only God possessed in beatific vision can make man perfectly happy, and this vision cannot be had in earthly life.

Once perfect happiness has been attained, it cannot be lost.

In heaven, the objective happiness of man is God, and hence the happiness of heaven is objectively one. But subjectively one man can be happier than another in heaven, for one man may have a greater capacity of the happiness of heaven.

Man’s natural power cannot bring him perfect happiness, which is supernatural. To attain perfect happiness, we need grace here on earth, and to posses perfect happiness, we need the light of glory in heaven.

Last week there was the announcement of the new Vatican department for renewed evangelization of areas subject to secularization.

There are 2 remedies to the lack of Christian enthusiasm in western society:

We must start by having a clear idea of what it means to be a Christian.

We must once again become God’s messengers to everyone around us.

We must start by having a clear idea of what it means to be a Christian.

We carry the “marks” of Jesus. At the time of Paul, some masters branded their slaves with red-hot iron, as people do with cattle today. A run-away slave could thus be identified by that mark and be sent back to his master. In Baptism, we were marked forever as children of God and in Confirmation, we were marked forever as soldiers of Christ. But ours is not the mark of slavery, but the mark of freedom and spiritual childhood.

As Christian, we must carry our cross daily (fulfilling our duties & keeping the Commandments). Freedom is not just doing whatever I want. In western society, many people did whatever they wanted and despised the Commandments, but they ended up becoming slaves of their own passions. The widespread problem of addictions is a good indication that people in society has the wrong notion of freedom.

As Christian, we must pray. Some Christians from third world are scandalized by the lack of prayer of Christians in the first world. Our Lady, through her apparitions, gives us “prayer” (esp. the Rosary) as an important solution to the problems in our world today.

We must once again become God’s messengers to everyone around us.

The best way to learn is to teach

Faith is NOT just a private matter. In western society, people are too afraid to offend others, and thus not speaking up for the truth. But sharing the truth is an expression of love. We should share what is most precious and important in our lives with others.

Jesus sent 12 apostles and 72 disciples:

12 tribes of Israel and 72 tribes or clans listed in Ch. 10 of Genesis (the complete list, as the Jews thought, of all the tribes living in the world at the time)

As many of you know, I was the Assistant Pastor @ Corpus Christi Parish from 2006-08. But after 2008, I still went back every Sunday to say the Chinese Mass there. This year, my classmate, Father Henry Yeung, is assigned to be the new Assistant Pastor of Corpus Christi. He will continue to celebrate the Chinese Mass there. Yesterday, therefore, was my last Sunday saying Chinese Mass @ CC.

Last Thursday (July 1) I spent a day with the Chinese people from CC for a day-trip. And last Friday (July 2) there was a farewell dinner for Fr. Michael, Fr. Peter, and myself.

I will certainly miss the Chinese community @ CC. It’s wonderful to serve the Chinese people there in the past 4 years. After my “retirement” from CC Chinese Mass, I will continue to serve the Chinese in 3 ways: lead my private prayer groups, teach Catechism to non-Catholic Chinese here @ St. Pat’s, and share the Good News by media (newspaper & radio).

July 9 is the feast of the Chinese Martyrs. One hundred and ten years ago (on July 9, 1900) seven sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) were martyred with bishops, priests, seminarians, and lay faithful in Shanxi, China. The giving of oneself is at the core of the vocation of an FMM sister.

FMM protomartyrs

The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary were founded by Blessed Mary of the Passion in 1877. As a young woman, Blessed Mary experienced the call of God to lead a life of total consecration and to offer herself as a victim soul for the Church and the Pope. As Superior of the Institute, Blessed Mary exhorted her sisters to live a life of holiness and fraternal union. She invited the sisters to live in this thought: “I am consecrated to God, my end is Love.”

In 1898, the future martyr, St. Francisco Fagolla (Coadjutor Bishop of Shanxi) went to Rome and wanted to have a community of religious sister in his diocese. St. Francisco met with Blessed Mary and made known his need to have sisters to organize a small hospital, to serve in an orphanage, and to educate women.

Blessed Mary accepted the invitation. She formed a group of seven sisters of different nationalities and sent them to China. After a hard long journey, the sisters arrived at Taiyuan, Shanxi, on May 4, 1899. From the day of their arrival the sisters dedicated themselves to the service of 200 little girls in the orphanage. They also worked to improve the quality of life for all people.

In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, many Christians were put to death for refusal to deny their faith. Fully aware of the dangers, the sisters chose to remain at Taiyuan. Their leader, Sister Marie Hermine, told the bishops, “We came here to exercise charity and to shed our blood for the love of Jesus Christ if need be.”

On July 5, bishops, priests, seminarians, lay faithful, and the seven sisters were imprisoned. On July 9 at around 4 p.m. they were dragged through the streets to the tribunal, where they were massacred by the order of the governor.

Self-giving love expressed in writings

On Sept. 22, 1900, Blessed Mary of the Passion received the news of the martyrdom of the seven sisters. She was filled with great emotion. It was a great sorrow to be separated with her beloved sisters, but it was also a great joy to have seven protomartyrs in her community. She said, “I can say with St. Francis: now I have seven true Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.”

In her circular letter to the Institute on 29 Sept. 1900, Blessed Mary wrote, “The martyrdom of our sisters speaks for itself. They were a holocaust right to the end.”

Letters from the seven sisters express their spirit of self-giving. Here are excerpts (one from each sister) from their letters:

“All is possible to those who love.” – Marie-Hermine de Jesus, French, martyred at age 34, superior of the community.

“I put all my good will in my works. I do not always succeed but I am always happy.” – Marie de Sainte Nathalie, French, martyred at age 36.

“All that we do through love of God is great in God’s eyes.” – Marie de Saint Just, French, martyred at age 34.

“Life is short. We must live fervently these short days of our earthly pilgrimage.” – Marie Adolphine, Dutch, martyred at age 34.

“My only consolation is Jesus! I am so happy when I am near Him; I wish never to leave Him.” – Maria della Pace, Italian, martyred at age 25.

“Jesus, how can I thank you for casting Your glance on me? I have nothing except my life, my heart, my soul, my work, my song ... in joy or in sorrow, reign until death takes me!” – Maria Amandina, Belgian, martyred at age 28.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

June 29 (last Tuesday) was the Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul. I think it was the happiest day for me this year. That evening, I baptized 11 Chinese people. Most of them were introduced or referred to me by other people and friends in the Chinese community. In the past year, I tailored for them Catechism classes according to their levels and schedules. I am very happy that one of the newly baptized is the result of our weekly Chinese radio program and of my personal website. Among the 11 newly baptized 5 of them also received the Sacrament of Confirmation and 7 of them received 1st Communion.

Since there were 11 people getting baptized, I placed the bone relics of the 11 martyrs of Nowogrodek at the place of Baptism.

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Our Lady of the Clergy, Pray for Us!

O Priest! thou art not thyself, because thou art God; thou art not of thyself, because thou art the servant and minister of Christ; thou art not thine own, because thou art the spouse of the Church; thou art not for thyself, because thou art the mediator between God and man; thou art not from thyself, because thou art nothing. What then art thou, O Priest? Nothing and everything. O Priest! take care lest what was said to Christ on the Cross be said to thee: He saved others, himself he cannot save. -St. Norbert